Latest HITs: New Aman COO; Minor buys in Maldives; Salters keep growing

New COO at Aman. Ultra-luxury lifestyle brand Aman has appointed Ben Trodd as chief operating officer, effective Tuesday, July 11. He will be based in Aman’s Swiss office and oversee all facets of operations, working closely with Chairman and CEO Vlad Doronin. Trodd was previously senior vice president, Sales & Hotel Marketing, at Four Seasons from 2019 where he implemented data and analysis-driven marketing initiatives to maximize brand value, optimize revenue generation, reduce costs, and enhance customer acquisition and retention strategies. He has also served as regional vice president and general manager of the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, and opened the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Seattle, Washington, and Palo Alto, California.

Minor buys in Maldives. The Amari Havodda Maldives has been acquired by Minor International Public Co. Ltd. and its m financial partner, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). The price paid was not immediately revealed. The resort will be rebranded as the first NH collection property in the Indian Ocean and Asia and marks Minor’s seventh property in the Maldives. This transaction marks the first hotel sale in the Maldives for 2023, with JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group advising Crystal Plaza Resorts on the sale. The property is located in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll in the southern region of the archipelago and has 120 villas. According to the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism, the country now operates over registered 160 resorts with approximately 40,000 beds, and 12 hotels with more than 1,500 beds operating as of December 2022. Approximately 1,450 new rooms are expected to open between 2023 and 2025, mainly in the midscale segment. On the luxury segment, notable upcoming openings include the Six Senses Kanuhura, Capella Maldives and Bulgari Resort Ranfushi.

Salter Brothers buying spree continues. Melbourne-based developer Salter Brothers has acquired the 251-room Sofitel Adelaide Hotel for approximately A$154 million. CBRE Hotels and Savills negotiated the sale on behalf of South Australian development and construction firm Palumbo Group. The price paid reset the benchmark for the Adelaide luxury hotel market with a record price per key achieved for a CBD asset. The Sofitel Adelaide is the first internationally branded luxury hotel to be built in Adelaide in 30 years, forming part of a 32-storey mixed use tower with two flexible retail tenancies included.

Charleston property sold. A partnership led by Rick Patton, principal of Rio Partners, has purchased the 179-room Holiday Inn Charleston-Riverview in South Carolina from Charlotte, North Carolina-based Park Place Hospitality Group for an undisclosed price on June 27. Hunter Hotel Advisors arranged the sale for Park Place Hospitality Group, who completed an extensive renovation before the sale, updating guest rooms and common spaces.

Peachtree sells Arizona TownePlace. The 109-key TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Chandler, Arizona, has been acquired from Peachtree Group by Washington-based Trimark X, LLC. Cushman & Wakefield’s Western US Hospitality team in Phoenix represented the seller. The buyer also owns the Element by Westin located next door and will complex the two hotels’ operations.

Chapter 11 for Margaritaville NYC. New York developer Soho Properties has reportedly filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the Margaritaville Resort Times Square Hotel. The owner hopes to refinance some $309 million of debt and re-negotiate with its mezzanine lenders. The company wrote in the filing documents that preventing a foreclosure auction was the “immediate purpose” of this bankruptcy filing. The hotel opened in 2021 and reportedly has lost money, although the owners reported improving operating results in its bankruptcy filing.

Davidson growth. Davidson Resorts has been selected by Allied Capital & Development to manage the 179-room Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place in Jupiter, Florida.

Gaw closes 7^th fund. Hong Kong-based PE firm Gaw Capital Partners has closed its seventh Asia Pacific real estate fund, bringing total equity raised for the opportunistic vehicle to $3 billion. Gateway Real Estate Fund VII closed well above the announced hard cap of $2.5 billion, Gaw said. The fund deploys capital into new economy and thematic properties across the region, with a special focus on China and other key markets including Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore, Southeast Asia and Australia. The vehicle’s investments include the purchase of the Hyatt Regency Tokyo in partnership with U.S. fund manager KKR. The fund has also made several real estate-backed private credit investments in Hong Kong and mainland China. Gaw Capital had $36 billion in assets under management as of the first quarter of this year.

Mission Hill grows in Florida. Mission Hill Hospitality, Denver, has acquired two select-service Marriott hotels in Clearwater Beach, Florida: the 144-key AC Hotel Clearwater Beach and the 139-key Courtyard Clearwater Beach. Terms are undisclosed. These are the 30th and 31st properties added to the Mission Hill Hospitality portfolio since the company was launched in March 2021. The assets are Mission Hill’s fourth and fifth acquisitions in Florida.

Super 8 to UK. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Roadchef, a UK motorway service area operator, have announced the upcoming opening of the Super 8 by Wyndham Chester East, the brand’s entry in the U.K. Expected to open this month following an extensive refurbishment project, the 41-room hotel is part of a larger multi-million investment by Roadchef as it looks to upgrade its roadside hotels across the U.K.

MEA May results. Among key hotel markets in Middle East & Africa, Jordan and Qatar realized the only month-over-month gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) improvements in May, according to STR. Jordan’s GOPPAR level reached $66.77, showing a significant month-over-month increase (+34.1%). That level was 106% of what was seen in May 2022 but was down from the 369% index reported in April.  Qatar reached a GOPPAR of $37.95, down 20.9% year over year. The market, however, saw a month-over-month jump of 39% and was one of the only markets to show an improvement in the index (at 79% of May 2022 levels). Saudi Arabia ($71.75) was the only other market to show a higher GOPPAR index over the previous month, at 102% of the 2022 comparable. 

Radisson adds in Fiji. Radisson Hotel Group has signed the 250-room Radisson Blu Mirage Resort, Fiji Naisoso Island, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2026. According to Tourism Fiji, tourism in Fiji is expected to grow by 10% from 2019 to reach 1 million international visitors by 2024. Relcorp (Fiji) Pte Ltd. is the developers of Naisoso Island. The resort is part of the Mirage development master plan which also includes Mirage Luxury Apartments and The Marina, a mixed-use integrated development.

Holiday Inn to Bhutan. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with T&K Construction Private Limited for its first Holiday Inn hotel in Bhutan. Featuring 100-keys, Holiday Inn Thimphu is set to open its doors in Q2 2025 and marks IHG’s second brand in the country, complementing the existing Six Senses Bhutan.

New Thai developer teams with IHG. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bangkok Asoke with new partner A.P.K Real Estate Co., Ltd – a real estate developer in Thailand entering the hotel market for the first time. The hotel is scheduled to open in early 2025 following its conversion from the vacant new-build high rise BelAir Mansion residential condominium. It will feature 180 rooms, with 15% of its inventory comprising suites with kitchenettes.

TPG adds marinas. TPG Hotels & Resorts, and its marina management affiliate, TPG Marinas, have assumed management of six marinas in Connecticut and Maryland for Epum Holdings. “We see a significant opportunity to deploy our institutional management platform to these assets and enhance their operations to increase the value of these marinas. Adding these marinas fits our strategic vision to expand our management with premier marinas nationwide,” said Tim Muir, chief development officer, TPG Hotels & Resorts.